Is Your Data Secure On Your Portable Devices?

In the mid to late 2000s, the concept of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) emerged onto the business scene. Instead of employers providing mobile phones for their employees, many workers chose to bring their own phones to the workplace, and use them for business.
Fast-forward to 2020, and BYOD is as commonplace as free WIFI. However, do you know for sure that your company data on these devices is secure? We provide some suggestions that will get you on the right track.

Get It In Writing

If you have made the business decision to allow employees to put company email onto their personal smartphone or tablet, then some ground rules need to be set. Specifically, you need a Mobile Device Usage policy. This is an agreement between the employee and the company on how your workers will handle your data while on their portable device.

In this policy, you will want to layout the type of behavior that is expected from the employee, in terms of how to safeguard your company’s data that resides on that device. Are they required to maintain a screen lock, and or do you require that their device be encrypted? You may even have apps that you do not want installed on the same device that your company data rests. All of this should be spelled out clearly for all to understand.

Managing Mobile Devices

Maybe you have a Mobile Device Usage policy, but you think to yourself, “OK, this is great, but how can I make sure those devices remain secure?” Fortunately, there are many solutions out there that specialize in what is called Mobile Device Management, or “MDM”. MDM usually is performed by installing software onto a mobile device, which registers the smartphone or tablet with that software suite.

Once registered, you know what type of device it is (Apple or Android), what operating system it is running, and how much storage space is available. The most powerful portion of it is the ability to set certain types of security policies, as well as alerts. This can alert you if a device has had its screen lock removed, or it can prevent someone from removing it altogether. Also, you can use it to send certain apps you want your workforce to use, without them having to visit the app store for it. If a device is lost, you can send a command to wipe it, thus protecting your data from falling into the wrong hands.